Before The Lines
by Stormai
Summary: "When I first met you, I didn't know that you were gonna be this important to me." Family time is something special yet hard to come back due to excessive work, but this family nonetheless plans for a trip to a Christmas Resort. But what they didn't plan for is the expansion of their family. Who knew that this first introduction would lead to a new found bromance, and MORE?


_This is a companion story to_ **Outside** **The** **Lines** _. No, you do not have to read that to read this BUT it does make more sense when you read that story. Other than that, thanks for reading!_

 **A/N: Song Lyrics and Inner Thoughts are in italics. (DO NOT OWN : Take Me On by A-Ha)**

* * *

A Very Pretty White Christmas.

That's what Riley believed she was witnessing as she silently watched through her bedroom window.

New York never shied away from snow. It was indeed one of the coldest states to live when Winter arrived. Living in a chilly city like New York City had its cons, but the one pro that ruled overall was the beautiful scenery it left. The people of the city sometimes longed for the day snow fell. It helped lift the spirit of those that felt stressed or lonely or hurt, etc...

"Riley, where are y—Oh!" Riley knew that voice all too well. She turned to smile at her mom as the parent continued talking, "Come on sweetie. We gotta finish packing. Don't want to miss that trip, do you?" Topanga expressed to her daughter.

The smile on Riley's face was enough for Topanga to know that her little baby girl was all in.

"Mom, Look!" Riley pointed to the window. Topanga smiled then joined her daughter, sitting right beside her gazing the outside. "It looks like the snow in **Polar Express**."

Topanga watched Riley's face as she eagerly blabbed about the movie they had watched just a few days ago. She remembered watching the movie with so much love but so little noise yet so many tears of happiness. If only the movie arrived during her childhood years, she would've known the true meaning of Christmas. She would've been able to be as cheerful and joyful as her daughter seems to be with no acknowledgment of this ever-changing world.

…But now, it's Topanga's job as a mother to instill the true meaning of life.

She's a mother.

A proud mother.

"Mom! Can you make those chocolate chip bear cookies before we go?" Topanga turned her head to locate the person whom spoke.

"Josh, go play with Chester. I was telling mom about the snow." Riley's tiny voice spoke. Chester was Josh's purple bunny that he took everywhere; it helped him sleep at night when the monsters came knocking at his door…or so he says.

Josh folded his arms. "No, I want cookies. MOOOOM!" Josh exclaimed.

"…And you wonder why you have no friends!" Riley argued back. "You're a Big Meanie!"

Josh stuck out his tongue. "So! I don't want any friends!" He said.

"Yes, you do! Everybody does!" Riley responded back. "No one wants to play with you, because you're mean. The only friend that you have is Maya, and that's only because I'm your sister and she's friends with me."

Josh growled, "Nu uh! Stop lying!"

Topanga laughed as her twins continued to argue back and forth.

Joshua "Josh" Gabriel Matthews and Riley Dawn Matthews were her 5-year old twins, and both couldn't be any more different from each other. Riley liked beautiful things, while Josh tended to side with the more dangerous and destructive options. That shouldn't be a surprise; girls are more into the baby dolls and princesses, while boys are more likely to want video games and monster trucks. However, Riley wasn't your typical little girl, so to speak. In fact, she threw all of her Barbie dolls in the garbage. Josh still held on to his monster trucks and such, and he also held on to his favorite purple bunny. Riley liked nature. Would she grow out of it? That was something Topanga didn't have the answer to, quite yet.

"Riley, we have all day to talk about the snow." Topanga interrupted the two's banter. This put a smile on little Josh's face; however, it soured the face of sweet little Riley. "Remember we have a long ride to Colorado. There's plenty of snow to talk about on the way there." Topanga tried to reason with her daughter.

Riley sighed, "Fine."

Even though it killed Riley to lose the argument, she wasn't one of those kids that wanted everything to herself. She knew that her mom was a mother of two, and that meant that the attention wouldn't be on her at all times.

Did she hate it?

Yes.

Was she going to throw a fit over it?

No.

…And that's what made Riley such a special little girl. Topanga knew this. Her son, Josh, on the other hand, would not think any of this through. He didn't care how he got it, but attention was what he craved. He reminded Topanga of her husband's best friend, Shawn, sometimes. No, Shawn wasn't as attention craving as Donald Trump, but he did have his moments.

"Topanga! Kids! We have to–Oh!" Cory Matthews, Topanga's husband and the father of the twins, stopped mid-sentence at the sight of his family. _Hmmm, let me guess: Josh acting like a baby again…_ He thought to himself as he took in the sight. He knew his son very well, so the sight of Josh smiling and Riley feigning a cheery expression told him all he needed to know.

Topanga smiled at her husband. "Are we almost ready?" She asked before standing and walking over to her husband. Cory, in return, smiled as his wife wrapped her arms around his neck.

Cory nodded his head. "Yes."

Josh groaned, "Ewwww!"

Riley slapped her leg. "Would you shut up?!" She screamed through her gritted teeth. In response, Josh stuck out his tongue and rolled his eyes.

Cory chuckled for only his wife to hear. "They are…something else, aren't they?" He said.

Topanga nodded her head rather quickly. "Yes!" She exclaimed. "They're the smartest little 5 year olds I've ever seen. We're lucky."

Cory pulled his wife in for a kiss. "Yes," He breathed out once their lips no longer touched. "Yes, indeed."

Suddenly, a tugging motion could be felt on Topanga's shirt. She looked down to see Josh, standing there with the biggest dopey eyes ever seen. This made Cory roll his eyes at how manipulative his son was, but he loved that about him nonetheless.

"Mom, COOKIES!" Josh begged.

Topanga smiled, "Fine." She said before pecking Cory's lips one last time. "2 batches of chocolate chip bear cookies coming right up!" She announced.

 **{*****}**

Road trips were always a pain in the ass, especially for for Cory whom by default was on trunk duty. Trunk duty meant that he was in charge in putting the suitcases and bags in the trunk, and it sometimes turned into a hectic mess.

"Here, dad." Cory groaned at the sound of his daughter's voice. "Here," Riley spoke again. This time, she made sure her dad had turned around.

Cory feigned a small smile as he gently grabbed the pink backpack from her daughter's hands. "You aren't taking this with you, sweetie?" Cory asked Riley.

The little brunette shook her head rather quickly. "No," She said.

"Okay." Cory responded softly before squeezing it in a tiny space on the side of the trunk. Let's hope that was the last one…Cory thought to himself before reaching up to grab and pull the trunk's door down.

Before the trunk was fully closed, another little voice made its way into Cory's ears. "DAAAAAD!" That was the one and only Joshua Matthews. The father closed his eyes, thinking of some curse words he wanted to get out of his system. "DAAAAAD!" He heard Josh scream to the top of his lungs. His son was surely doing this on purpose, right? "DAAA—"

Cory somehow put his hand over his son's mouth while his eyes were still closed. The now wide-eyed youngster stood there waiting for his father's next step. "What have I told you about constantly calling my name?" Cory asked his son. Before Josh could respond, Cory continued, "Just…give me the bag." He finished before opening his eyes.

Josh put on the best I'm sorry face before handing his dad the red backpack. "Sorry," He apologized.

Cody waved his free hand in dismissal. "It's fine. Is that the last bag?" He asked, hoping the answer was YES.

"Well, um…" Josh began. The nervous smile on his son's face told him everything he didn't want to be true.

Cory sighed, "Who's next? What did your mom forget?" He asked Josh.

"No, it's not mom." Josh said.

Cory's eyebrows twitched in confusion. "Then who is it?" He asked. Isn't there only 4 of us? He thought to himself before looking back at the trunk then back to his son. "Your sister already came out here." He explained to his son.

Josh pointed to the side of Cory.

Cory whipped his head to the right. "OH NO!"

"OH YES!" It was the one and only, Shawn Hunter. "There goes my best friend." He excitedly pulled Cory into a hug then gave a high-five to little Cory.

"Wh—" Cory was at a loss for words. He had no idea that Shawn was coming. In fact, last week, Shawn told them that he wasn't going to be able to travel due to his own traveling of sorts for work. He was a tourist, writing articles for the new company M1LL1ON. Shawn's articles were a little out of touch for his best friend, but Topanga seemed to like them. She constantly raved on them to no stop, annoying the living hell out of her husband. "I thought you weren't coming." Cory finally mustered enough words to come out of his shock.

Shawn threw his hands in the air. "Well, I lied." He laughed then pat Cory on the shoulder. "I wanted it to be a surprise."

"B-But…UGH!" Cory loudly groaned.

Shawn laughed, "Aww…you got trunk duty again. Sorry, man."

Cory rolled his eyes, "Yeah right. Sorry, my ass."

Josh let out a gasp then covered his mouth with his unoccupied hand; the other had Chester in its grip. "Dad? You just said a curse word." Josh muttered through his hand. "I'm telling mom—"

"—Wait! Wait, no, no, no…" Cory quickly interrupted his son, resulting in Josh halting in his position. "I'll give you anything you want. Don't tell Mom." Cory pleaded with his son.

Shawn laughed as he watched Josh tap his cheek, as if he was thinking of what he wanted. That boy is going to be something else when he gets older…Shawn thought to himself.

"Well…" Josh said as he continued to tap his cheek. "I want…um…oooh, ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS!"

Cory could hear Shawn trying to stifle a laugh. That's ridiculous…Cory thought to himself…Why is my son such a blackmailer? Next thing I know, he's gonna turn into one of those con artists. $100 my ass!

Cory shook his head. "Nope. Go lower." He told his son.

Josh shook his head then folded his arms tight, squeezing the non-life out of Chester the Purple Bunny. "No. ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS!" He demanded.

"$100 for what?" A little voice sounded off from what seemed like behind Shawn. The article composer quickly whipped around to see his daughter standing there with her hands folded, mimicking that of Josh.

"…And hello to you, Tutu." Cory greeted his niece, Maya. He gave her that nickname after he and Topanga walked in Maya trying on one of Topanga's old school play tutus, where Topanga played a fairy. Topanga had tried to get Cory to stop calling her that, especially in public, but it always went in one ear and out the other.

Maya shot Cory a quick smile. "Hi, Uncle Cory." She greeted her uncle before folding her arms and putting on an angry-pouty face, similar to that of Josh.

"Um…" Cory didn't understand why Maya felt the need to copy Josh. "Well, to answer your question, Tutu…" He began to explain. "Josh heard your favorite uncle say a very bad word, and now he's trying to blackmail me into giving him $100."

Maya scrunched her eyebrow in confusion. "Black…mail?" She didn't understand the word.

Shawn nodded his head. "Yes, sweetie."

"For saying a bad word?" Maya asked.

Cory nodded his head this time. "Yes. And, I know that he's your favorite person in the whole world. So, would you do me a favor and get him to lower the price to…I don't know…$20?" Cory softly asked his niece, hoping she had some kind of pull over Josh.

"But…" Maya sighed. "You said a bad word. And dad told me that it's very bad to say a bad word." Maya tried to explain to her uncle, who watched her nervously. "Mom slapped daddy once for saying it in front of me."

Shawn nodded, "Yeah. But it didn't hu—"

"…And dad cried for a whole hour." Maya unintentionally cut her father off. Cory laughed at the look Shawn gave his daughter. "…And you're my favorite, Uncle Cory. I don't want you to cry like daddy did." She said, and Shawn raised his finger hoping to silence his daughter but she never caught on. "So, you can lower it to $40."

Cory looked at Josh, who looked a little more pissed than he first was. "Ok ok…how about I give him $20—"

"No, $40!" Maya was stern in her decision.

Cory sighed. "Fine."

"And I want a new video game." Josh piped in.

"…And a new video game!" Maya echoed her friend.

Cory groaned. "FINE!" He agreed. "But you can't tell your mom."

Josh smiled, "DEAL!"

He reached into his pocket and grabbed his wallet. He pulled out two $20 bills before begrudgingly giving them to Josh.

"Thanks, dad." Josh sounded off before he turned around and began walking to the house.

"Yeah, Thanks Dad!" Maya once again echoed Josh before joining him.

Shawn shook his head. "Cory, you're an idiot." He told his best friend, who wore a confused expression. Shawn pointed to Maya. "She still got you to pay your son $100, you dummy. Video games are SIXTY dollars, and she got you to pay him FORTY dollars!" He said then softly slapping his best friend in the back of the head.

Cory's mouth dropped open. "Oh my god…"

"It's called Blackmail!" Maya confessed excitedly before turning to her favorite person in the whole world. "You owe me $20." She whispered to Josh so that their dads wouldn't hear.

Josh groaned, "Fine." He said before giving her one of the bills.

Shawn shook his head. "No, that's not blackmailing…"

"…That's a con artist." Cory finished Shawn's sentence.

 **{*****}**

 _We're talking away…I don't know what I'm to say I'll say it anyway…Today's another day to find you…Shying away—_

"Yes, honey?" Cory had turned down the volume on the radio to listen to his wife, who was furiously tapping her husband's shoulder.

"The kids and I don't want to listen to this son—"

Before Topanga finished, Cory playfully shouted from the driver's seat, "TOO BAD!"

Shawn then turned the volume up.

 _Take on meeee (take on me)_

 _"Take meeee oooooon (take on me)! I'lllll beeee goooooone_!" Cory sung.

Shawn inserted himself, " _In_ _a_ _day_ _or…_ "

" _TWOOOOOOOOO_!" Both grown men sung.

Topanga rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help but to smile. These two grown men, singing a 1984 classic. She remembered when she first heard the song. Her and Cory were fiddling around with his parents' old school radio, and that tune came on. It was instantly Cory's favorite song, and it still was to this date. Cory and Shawn played the hell out of the song to annoyance, but Topanga couldn't lie: the Cory & Shawn Karaoke session was to die for.

" _Say after meeeee…It's no better to be safe than sorry. Taaaaaaake oooooon meeeee…"_ Shawn was the only one singing this time, while Cory casually bopped his head.

The kids groaned rather loudly in the back of the van.

"UGH!" Josh exclaimed. "Can we please change the station?"

"YEAH!" Riley and Maya simultaneously added.

Topanga turned around and gave the three kids a sad but gentle smile. "Stay in there, kids…" She told them. The kids weren't stupid. They knew exactly what that meant: this was going to be a LONG ride to Colorado.

Suddenly, Cory turned down the volume.

He turned to Shawn. "Hey, Shawn…why didn't the famous Katy Hunter join us?" He asked.

Shawn shrugged. "Honestly, I don't kn—"

He wasn't able to finish his sentence, because the fabulous Maya Hart-Hunter decided to insert herself. "It's Katy Clutterbucket-Hunter!" She piped from the left side of the far back.

Josh nudged Maya's arm from the middle seat, while Riley laughed from her right seat.

Shawn rolled his eyes then turned to face the young troublemaker. "Yes Miss Smart Pants!" He laughed then turned to Cory to continue, "She got a promotion so it was kinda hard to work around that."

"Wait what!" Topanga shouted excitedly from her seat behind Cory, aka the driver seat. "She got a promotion! That means more money and better insurance. Oh My Gosh! Soon, she's gonna find herself at a chief position in that fancy phenomenon they call Star*Go!"

Topanga and Katy hit off really well. Shawn wouldn't dare tell anyone, but Topanga approving of Katy was one of many determining factors in marrying Katy. He nine times-out of ten would've married the beautiful woman no matter what, but seeing how well the two were made the semi-childish guy very happy. Also, Maya was just the most adorable thing ever. She was five years old now, but meeting her at three had to be the best thing ever. She reminded him of himself, and he didn't even create her.

It was fate.

He just knew it.

"Daaaaad, I'm boooooooored!" Josh whined from the back.

Cory sighed, "Wow. Shawn, are you sure this one isn't yours?"

Shawn chuckled. "Nah. Unless you count that one time I banged Topanga…"

 **SWERVE**!

 **HONK**!

"DAD!" Riley cried from the back.

Hearing that made Cory swerve out of his respective lane for a moment, but he regained it.

"Say what, now?" Cory didn't look like Cory anymore, and that scared Shawn. However, Shawn had to admit that pranking and fooling around with Cory had to be some of the best moments of his life.

"RELAX!" Shawn burst into a fit of laughter. Cory rolled his eyes but let out a nervous sigh. "Wow. You really thought I had sex with Topanga…Wow." Shawn continued to laugh.

Topanga slapped Shawn's arm. "Stop that! And we have kids in the back. Watch your mouth!" She snapped.

Shawn rubbed his left arm. "Ow. Okay, I'll stop running my little potty mouth." He agreed.

"Please and thank you." Cory added.

"Potty mouth! Potty mouth! Potty mouth!" Riley began singing in the back. The other two soon joined. "Potty mouth! Potty mouth! Potty mouth!" They all sung.

Topanga laughed. "You three must be really bored, huh?" She asked and the three little kids nodded. "Go to sleep. Time will fly by faster."

"I'm not sleepy." Maya told her play aunt.

"Whoever goes to sleep first, I'll give them thirty dollars." Shawn announced.

Topanga watched as all three quickly closed their eyes. She burst into a fit of laughter, watching those three try and force themselves to sleep. "Shawn, you're so cruel." She whispered so the kids wouldn't hear.

He laughed, "It got them to be quiet didn't it?"

 **{*****}**

"Alright, we're here!" Shawn announced from the driver's seat.

"Whoo! Thank God!" Topanga cheered from the front passenger seat. "We got here in one piece."

Both of the adults in the front turned around to see the other four people asleep soundly in their positions. The kids were all technically lying on top of each other. Well, that wasn't true. Josh was in the middle with his legs in the open space in front of him, while Riley laid on his lap; Maya had her head on his shoulder, sleeping peacefully it seemed. Cory had taken Topanga's early spot, because he needed much needed rest…he stated. He had his legs stretched to the other seat. Little Josh's legs were in the space underneath him.

Shawn laughed, "Look at the sleeping beauties."

Topanga hit Shawn's shoulder and shook her head. "Alright, lets get them up." She instructed Shawn. "YO! GET UP! WE'RE HERE!" She shouted, which in return jolted Cory upwards. The sound of the kid's loud yawns filled the van.

"Took us long enough…" Cory sleepily stated. "27 hours…wow."

Shawn looked at Cory and laughed. "Never again?" He asked.

"Never again." Cory agreed before leaning over and opening the door on the passenger side. "Alright kids, be careful." He told them.

Shawn rushed over to Topanga's side and helped the kids out of the vehicle. "Alright kiddos!" Shawn excitedly said and clapped his hands. "Who's ready for some fun?" He asked.

Maya had the biggest GTFO ( **Get** **The** **F** * **ck** **Out** **of** **Here** ) face ever, even for a five year old.

"It's cold." Josh announced.

Topanga reached into the van and grabbed Josh's coat. "Did you really forget your coat?" She rhetorically asked before she helped him into it. "Here. Don't want you getting pneumonia."

"What's pneumonia?" Riley piped from her standing position.

"It's like the flu or a very severe cold that you should take care of pronto." Cory explained. "Don't wait until it gets worse, because something very bad could happen to you."

Josh looked interested. "Like what?"

Cory rolled his eyes. "Of course you're the one asking that." He muttered under his breath.

"Death." Shawn casually said.

Topanga smacked Shawn's arm. "SHAWN!"

"Ouch! Topanga!" Shawn cried out. "That's like the sixth time today."

Topanga shrugged, "Well stop saying stuff the kids shouldn't be hearing."

The intertwined families made their way to the Christmas's Resort's entrance. Topanga had Josh's hand in her cold palms, while Cory rolled the luggage with Riley walking directly in front of him. Shawn was also carrying luggage, but he kept an eye on Maya who was standing next to Riley looking around in awe.

"It's like a royal palace." Cory said, obviously amazed by the scenery.

"…A royal snow palace!" Riley squealed in front of Cory. "Mama, look! Santa! Santa!"

"Where?!" Josh and Maya simultaneously asked.

Riley pointed to the left of her, and she was right.

There, standing what looked like 6 feet tall, was the famous Santa Claus. Depending on the family, Santa Claus was either a major thing or someone that didn't exist at all. For the Matthews & Hunters, Santa Claus was indeed real. It gave the kids something to believe in, and it also was a good way to get a child to behave; not every disciplinary action required spankings or belts. ' _Remember, Santa is watching. If you keep being bad, you'll get coal in your Christmas presents.'_ It worked every single time _._

Topanga crouched down to the children's height. "Go and say hi." She didn't need to say it twice, because those kids were already running to the poor old loving man.

Cory laughed at the three little ones as they continuously asked questions.

"How many reindeer do you really have? And why do they bully Rudolph?"

"Do you get snow up there in the North Pole?"

"I've been wanting this new trampoline, but mom says it's too big and expensive. Is there any way you can fit that in my Christmas box?"

Guess who said what.

Cory nodded to the front desk. "Shawn and I are gonna go sign in. Can you watch the kids, sweetie?" He asked with a kiss on the lips.

Topanga smiled. "Of course." She responded and the two men were off to the front desk.

It looked like the actual North Pole…a Golden North Pole. There were elves everywhere, and Topanga could've sworn she seen like seven different Santa's. She made sure to catch the different slides and hiding spots, just in case the kids wanted to get rebellious and sneak away. Knowing Josh and Maya, they would convince Riley to follow whatever they planned and Topanga wasn't having it.

"Oomph!" A kid bumped into Topanga.

"Oh, are you alright?" Topanga asked as she crouched down to his height.

He nodded his head. "Yeah." He said then smiled. He was missing some teeth, but that was normal for kids his age to start missing teeth. Josh had just lost some of his a few months ago. Riley hadn't had any fall out yet, but Topanga knew it was coming.

"Lucas, where are—Oh, there you are!" The for-what-seemed-like the father said as he scooped his son in his arms. Lucas, the boy who bumped into Topanga, began giggling in the man's arms.

Topanga smiled watching those two. It reminded her of Cory's playfulness with Riley and Josh.

The man suddenly stopped when he realized Topanga was standing in front of him. "Oh, I'm sorry." He apologized then stuck out his hand for her to shake. "I'm Jerry. Jerry Friar." He said before smiling with a perfect white full set of teeth.

Topanga held up her hand. "Topanga Matthews. Married." She claimed.

Jerry placed Lucas on the ground before throwing his hands up in the air. "Woah! I wasn't hitting on you or anything." He clarified.

Topanga laughed, "That's fine." She took a second to look to her right. Yup, they're still there…She thought to herself, making sure the three troublemakers didn't run off anywhere. "I just…" Topanga shrugged. "Do that any time a guy walks over to me? You'd be surprised to know how many guys actually do flirt with me?" She laughed.

Jerry smiled. "Really? How many?"

Topanga was about to answer, but she's interrupted by someone. "She's married!" He said then pulled her to his side.

Topanga looked to her side to see…"SHAWN!" She exclaimed then wiggled away from her husband's best friend. "Stop it. This is NOT my husband." She claimed.

"SHE'S MARRIED!" Cory finally appeared, pulling Topanga to his side.

Shawn clapped Cory's shoulder. "Yeah boy!" He said excitedly. "I was only halting any communications until you came." He explained to his best friend, resulting in Topanga rolling her eyes.

"He wasn't hitting on me." Topanga announced.

Jerry laughed, "No. I wasn't. At all. I promise."

"Mom, Santa said I can get that trampo—" Josh stopped speaking when he caught the sight of Lucas, using his peripheral vision. "Who is this?" He quickly asked, looking straight into the eyes of this unknown person.

Topanga grabbed Josh's hand. "This is Lucas." She told him. "…And no fighting." She knew her son very well to know that Josh liked to fight with any and almost everybody. He did not care. If he felt like you were invading or annoying him, he would just punch you square in the face.

Maybe Shawn is a bad influence…Topanga thought to herself.

Jerry caught wind of this and gently moved Lucas to the side of him, away from Josh.

"No wife?" Shawn asked, folding his arms.

Jerry shook his head. "Newly divorced." He told him.

"Divorced?" Josh was confused on that word. "What does that mean?"

Cory looked down at Josh. "It means that a wife and husband separate, like if mom and I separated." He explained.

"Noooo!" Josh cried. "Then, where would me and Riley be? NO! YOU TWO CAN NEVER GET A DIVORCE!"

Shawn and Jerry simultaneously laughed.

Topanga softly smiled before looking at Lucas. "Hey. How are you dealing with mommy and daddy splitting?" Maybe it wasn't her right to ask such a question to a little child, but she found it pretty interesting that the little boy seemed as happy as can be.

"I'm okay." Little Lucas responded. "Mommy and Daddy still love me. Nothing changed. It's the same." His response made Topanga's heart warm. For such a little boy, Lucas had a sweet heart; it was probably sweeter than her little Riley's.…and that's saying a lot.

Jerry softly rubbed the back of Lucas's shirt. Lucas tilted his head back to look up at his father with the biggest smile. Jerry couldn't be any more lucky to have such an understanding son.

"Why are you happy?" Josh asked Lucas. "Your mom and dad left each other. Doesn't that mean you don't see one of them."

Lucas shook his head. "No, I see them all the time." He answered.

"Where's your mom?" Josh asked.

"Hey Lucas, I was looking for you. Jerry, did you—" The woman suddenly stopped once she seen Topanga standing right there. "TOPANGA! HEY!" The woman exclaimed before the two hug.

"What are you doing here, Judy?" Topanga asked once the two pull away.

Judy turned around and gestured to her son. "Well, this was the last vacation resort we had. It was pre bought like two years ago, so we thought it would be best to go." Judy explained to Topanga. "Wouldn't want to waste a trip to a resort, right?"

Topanga shook her head. "No, not at all…"

Judy turned to Cory and Shawn. "Hello, I'm Judy Greek." She introduced herself to the two quiet but observant men.

 _That's_ _gonna_ _take_ _some_ _getting_ _use_ _to_ …Jerry silently thought to himself… _It's_ _been_ _a_ _year_ _and_ _a_ _half_ _and_ _I_ _still_ _haven't_ _gotten_ _used_ _to_ _that_.

"Hey, I'm Cory Matthews." Cory greeted her with a handshake.

Shawn shook her hand as well. "Shawn Hunter at your service…" Judy laughed at Shawn's greeting.

 _Classic_ _Shawn_ …Topanga thought to herself.

"Mom!" Riley called out to her mother before holding up a red sucker in her hand. "Can I? Santa gave it to me." She was asking her mother for permission to eat it, since Topanga and Cory monitored the kids' candy habits.

Topanga nodded her head. "Yeah. Go ahead, honey."

"Oh, and this must be the famous little Riley I've heard so much about?" Judy asked the little brunette, crouching down to Riley's height.

Riley shied away into her mother's jacket. Riley was a very shy little girl…totally opposite from Maya. "I'm Maya!" Maya greeted Judy, walking over and giving her a hug.

Judy looked up to Shawn. "Is this one yours?" She asked.

Shawn nodded her head. "Yup." He answered before gently rubbing a hand through little Maya's hair.

"Your son is so sweet." Topanga told Judy.

Judy smiled. "Thanks. Teamwork makes the dream work." She said gesturing between Jerry and herself.

Topanga nodded. "I see."

"This must be the wildly popular Josh…" Judy said, looking at Josh. She held her hand out for Josh to high five it, and he does with no hesitation. "Bam!" Judy sounded off.

Josh laughed, "You're funny." He said then turned to his mom. "Mom, I like her. She's funny. Keep hanging out with her."

Judy, Jerry, Shawn, and Cory laughed as Topanga nodded her head. "Will do." She told her son.

"Hey…" Josh turned to speak to Lucas. "Do you wanna come to our room? I brought my new Spider-Man & Iron Man toys."

Lucas nodded. "Yeah." He looked back and forth between his mom and dad. "Can I?"

Jerry turned to Judy. "It's your call." He told her.

Judy smiled then nodded at Josh. "Sure."

"YES!" Josh exclaimed, jumping up and down. Soon, Lucas joined him.

Cory turned to Topanga then said, "I find it funny that our son wanted to fight him, but now he's inviting him to our room."

 **{*****}**

"What did you get for Christmas?" Josh asked Lucas.

"ALOT of stuff." Lucas said, looking down at the screen. "It's too much to say."

Josh shrugged, "Ok whatever."

Lucas laughed. "You're mean. I like it."

"What?" Josh was confused by Lucas's statement. Usually, when people are mean, they aren't liked. "That doesn't make sense, Luke. If I'm mean, that means that you shouldn't like me."

Lucas shrugged through the phone. "It's different. I like…honesty. Like…you're yourself." Lucas was trying to find the perfect words to describe his new found friend.

Josh smiled. "That's good to know."

Josh felt like he found someone who understood him. At five years old, he knew who he was and who he liked. If he didn't like you, he fought you. Hopefully, Lucas can break that habit of his. Josh got to learn that fighting doesn't always solve problems, but Shawn should probably be getting that blame.

"Alright, Josh…bedtime." Topanga announced as she entered Josh's room.

"Noooooo!" Josh whined then sighed. "Fine. Goodnight Lucas."

"Goodnight. Don't forget to call me tomorrow." Lucas told him.

Josh nodded. "Tomorrow. Same time?"

Lucas nodded and smiled. "Bet!"

With that, Josh tapped the red button and ended the FaceTime. He hated doing that. Ever since nine days ago, he felt as if he found his best friend in the whole wide world. It was too bad that Lucas lived in Texas, and he lived in New York.

"Mom, why can't Lucas move here?" Josh asked his mother.

Topanga sighed, "Well…the world doesn't work like that, sweetie."

"But whyyyy!" Josh whined.

Topanga laughed, "It just doesn't. But, hey, good news, Judy is moving to New York. So maybe you'll get to see Lucas more than you think."

Josh folded his arms and pouted. "I want to see him now!" He had a grumpy tone.

"We'll see." Topanga told him before gesturing for him to get under the covers. "Alright, it's time for you to go to bed." She waited for him to get under before she pulled the cover up to his neck. She then tucked the sides before leaning down and kissing his forehead. She softly moves his hair with her fingers before standing and walking over to the light switch. "Goodnight." She said to her son.

"Love you." Josh said.

Topanga smiled. _Maybe_ _Lucas_ _is_ _rubbing_ _off_ _on_ _him_ …She thought to herself. "Love you too, baby."

"Happy New Years." Josh called out.

Topanga laughed. "You got a few more hours before that's official."

"Mom?" Josh's little voice spoke out just as Topanga was leaving the room.

"Yeah." Topanga responded.

Josh cleared his throat. "You and dad will never divorce, right? You'll love each other forever and ever and ever, or at least until we get older. Lucas says it doesn't bother him, but I think it does. He's a bad lier. He doesn't know it yet, but I'm gonna turn him into a mean kid on purpose. He's too happy all the time." He was in the middle of talking, while Topanga listened. She didn't know if she wanted to cry or smile or laugh. It was too much. "…I hope he moves here. I don't want to hang out with anyone but him. He's really cool, and he let me eat his cookies. There were like 6 of them, and I ate 5 of them…but he didn't care. He didn't get mad or cry. We just kept playing with Iron Man." Josh continued to ramble on and on.

Topanga just stood in the doorway with a big smile on her face.

 _This_ _boy_.…She thought to herself.

"Mom," Topanga took her attention off Josh when she heard a whisper. Her daughter stood next to her in her snowflake pajamas.

"Hey sweetie, what are you doing up?" Topanga quietly asked Riley, trying not to get the attention of her still-rambling son.

"Can I tell you what I asked for Christmas from Santa?" Riley asked her mom, and her mom nodded. Riley looked at Josh, who still in his own world talking, then back at her mom. "I asked him to give Josh a friend."

Topanga smiled, "That's nice sweetie. Looks like Santa did well."

Riley nodded, "Yeah. I just didn't want Josh taking Maya away from me." She admitted. "He always interrupted our girl playtime. Maybe now, he can have boy playtime and leave us alone."

 _Ha!_ _This_ _girl_ …She thought to herself.

 **20** **YEARS** **LATER**

"When I first met you, I didn't know that you were gonna be this important to me. You're a pain in the ass, but I wouldn't have it any other way. When I met you, you were the happiest little 5 year old. I never understood how someone so nice and sweet wasn't bothered by his parents splitting. Then your dad died, and you cried on my shoulder like a f*cking baby. But, at that moment, I realized that there was no one else that I wanted close to me than you. Never let anyone ruin your happiness. Through your parents' death, that life threatening event, your injuries, rehab, and more…you've remained…YOU. How in the hell did you do that? I have no idea. But Luke, I have so much love for you. I LOVE YOU…with all of my heart. And I'm super happy that I'm 100% gonna be in your life FOREVER. You're stuck with me, dumbass. I love you, man."

Lucas nervously smiled. "So, is that a yes?" He asked his best friend.

Josh nodded his head. "Yeah. You got my blessing to marry my sister."

Lucas pulled Josh in for a hug. "Thanks so much, man." Lucas's voice was so shaky that it almost became unrecognizable. He was on the verge of crying, and he didn't want to pull away from the hug. Josh could be a _Big_ _Meanie_ at times, but he loved Lucas. And Lucas never knew how lucky he was until a couple of years ago. It had all came clear. His best friend…the one that tried to fight him when they first met. Who seen that coming?

"Go get her." Josh said, pulling away from the hug.

Both had tears in their eyes.

Lucas let out a relieving sigh. "Love you, man." He said before running to his car.

Josh wiped the tears forming in his eyes before turning to his side and placing a kiss on his wife. "Man…" He laughed and shook his head. "He turned me soft."

Maya looked up at her husband. "Nah, you were always soft. You just liked playing pretend." She told him.

Josh stuck his tongue out at Maya, who returned the favor.

"Dad!" Josh looked down at his son, who was handing him a Thor action figure.

Josh laughed. "Iron Man and Spider-Man is where it's at, little man."

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 **A/N: Thank for reading!**

 **I've been thinking about doing this for a while, but it wouldn't fit into the timeline of Outside The Lines. There was too much going on, but I fit it perfectly here. I'm so happy with how this turned out. Honestly, I started this about a week ago. Did another little part three days ago then finished it up with 4,000+ words today. I had time today, I guess.**

 **Read my other stories. I don't have many, but I'm bringing back a lot of my Austin & Ally ones. And soon, there'll be more Girl Meets World. **

**STORMAI**

* * *

Check out **Outside** **The** **Lines**

Check out **Thicker** **Than** **Blood** (soon)


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